"Suffer Little Children to Come unto Me"

From: Messages of God's Love: 1965

Leaving his family Gerhardt went into the wood to pray. It was a time of great trouble to him. There was no one to whom he could go for help but to God. While he was alone in the wood praying, this text of Scripture came into his mind. It seemed to him as if an angel had come and whispered to him: “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.” Psalms 37:5⁵Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. (Psalm 37:5).

This gave him great comfort. “Yes,” he said to himself, “though I am banished from my home and friends, and do not know where to take my wife and children for a shelter, yet God, my God, sees me in this dark wood. He knows all about us. Now is the time to trust in Him. He will how me this. He will ‘bring it to pass.’”

Paul Gerhardt was so happy as he thought on this text, and so thankful to God for bringing it into his mind, that as he walked up and down under the trees he composed some verses in it. Later they were written down and printed. Each verse begins with we or three words of the text so that when you have read through the hymn, you get the whole text. Perhaps you would like to hear the verses before we finish the story. Here they are—

“Commit thy way,” O weeper—

The cares that fret thy soul—

To thine almighty Keeper;

He makes the world to roll.

“Unto the Lord,” who guideth

The wind, and cloud, and sea;

Oh, doubt not He provideth

A footpath, too, for thee.

“Trust also,” for ‘tis useless

To murmur and forebode;

The almighty arm is doubtless

Full strong to bear thy load.